At Va. Tech, Near Silence For a Student's Anguished Cry

Daniel understood but didn't speak his parents' native tongue. The Kims chose to live away from their fellow immigrants, encouraging Daniel and his sister to mix with all kinds of people near their Reston home and at South Lakes High School. "Dan's friends were mostly white, but he was always proud of being Asian," his father says. "Then, all of a sudden, he resents being Asian -- why? Is it because of the shootings?"

In IM chats with William last week, Daniel's friends variously said that he had fallen as much as $2,000 in debt from online poker games; that he had fallen for a girl who didn't share his feelings; that he had been drinking a lot, often by himself; and that he seemed to withdraw since last summer.

"I tried to do as much as I could, but it's not very easy when you have a purely Internet relationship," wrote a University of Minnesota student who played games with Daniel.

When William last spoke to Daniel on Nov. 30, his son said he'd be home in 10 days.

William Kim, smoking again for the first time in two years, is back at work, stealing away into his office whenever he can to search for more clues. He carries his son's cellphone everywhere he goes.

The Kims are still receiving mail from the university. The biggest envelope in the stack contains everything the family needs to know to get ready for their son's graduation.

E-mail:marcfisher@washpost.com